Cuban Style Black Beans

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If you’ve only ever used canned beans you will be amazed by the flavors you can develop cooking beans from scratch. Simple ingredients can create deep soulful flavor. This recipe for Cuban Style Black Beans slowly simmers dried black beans to create signature Cuban flavors that are bold but comforting. While starting with dried beans takes a bit more time, the payoff is a creamier texture and a broth infused with deep, savory seasoning. This classic recipe is rich, savory, and infused with cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and uses a traditional sofrito of onions, peppers, and garlic to create a bold flavor profile that is naturally vegan and gluten-free. It’s a budget-friendly staple perfect for meal prep or a weeknight dinner. These beans are perfect served over rice, tucked into bowls with roasted vegetables, or spooned alongside plantains.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Dried beans are budget-friendly
• Perfect for meal prep
• High-protein vegan pantry staple
• Authentic Cuban flavors without meat

Cuban Style Black Beans from Dried Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 6 cups vegetable broth or water (plus more if needed)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup baby bell pepper (mini sweet peppers), finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Rinse and sort the dried black beans. Place them in a large bowl and cover with water by a few inches. Soak overnight, then drain and rinse.
2. Make the Sofrito, use a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5–7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, paprika, and oregano and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add the soaked beans and 6 cups of broth or water to the pot with the onions and peppers. Add the bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook covered for 2½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally or until the beans are tender.
4. Finish the beans by adding lime juice. Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Cuban style black beans over rice. Any kind of plain rice (white or brown) will do but you can also serve with cilantro lime rice. I like mine with a little sour cream added on top. They’re also delicious with fried plantains, avocado slices, or with tortilla chips. Leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors continue to develop. Use the leftovers to meal prep. Create completely different meals by serving in a roasted veggie bowl or on top of nachos.

Tips for the Best Cuban Black Beans

• Don’t forget to finish with lime juice—it brightens and deepens the flavor of the beans but it’s important to add at the end of cooking. Adding acid early in the cooking process makes the beans tough.
• For thicker beans, mash a small spoonful against the side of the pot and stir back in.
• These beans freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.

Simple and hearty these Cuban-style black beans are a staple recipe you’ll come back to again and again. 

More Vegan Bean Recipes You’ll Love

If you enjoyed the deep, soulful flavors of these Cuban black beans, you’re in the right place! Beans are the ultimate budget-friendly, protein-packed staple for plant-based cooking. Here are a few more of my favorite hearty, vegan bean recipes to add to your weekly meal rotation:

• Easy Mole Black Beans: Smoky and savory this canned black bean recipe uses a shortcut to bring complex slow simmered Mexican mole flavor to your weeknight table in a fraction of the time.
• Meatless Pinto Beans and Cornbread: Pure Southern comfort made entirely plant-based. These smoky, tender pinto beans pair perfectly with a slice of warm cornbread.
• Vegan Southern Butter Beans: Rich, creamy, and melt-in-your-mouth tender, this recipe brings classic Southern comfort to your dinner table without the meat.
• Jamaican Butter Bean Curry: Looking for bold, vibrant spices? This quick and fragrant curry infuses creamy butter beans with rich coconut milk and Caribbean heat.
• Vegan Cowboy Cornbread Casserole: A crowd-pleasing weeknight dinner that layers a savory, smoky bean chili beneath a golden, baked cornbread crust.

Pantry Tip: Dried beans, cumin, and oregano are absolute essentials for a plant-based kitchen. Check out my full guide to 50 Vegan Pantry Staples to make sure your kitchen is always ready for easy, budget-friendly meals!